BART Oakland International Airport Connector – California

Project Details

Client

San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District

Contract Value

$361 million

Project Duration

2010-2015

Services Provided

Design, construction (JV)

Moving People

Flatiron/Parsons Joint Venture (FPJV) designed and constructed the award-winning Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Oakland International Airport (OAK) Connector, a 3.2 mile long automated guideway transit (AGT) system that links the Coliseum BART Station to the new OAK Station at the Oakland International Airport. The contract for design and construction was awarded in 2010 and the project included three main components:

Two passenger stations: Coliseum Station and Airport Station

Doolittle Maintenance and Storage Facility

Realignment of a 3,500-ft-long bike path

Traveling above traffic, the OAK Connector spans the length of the Hegenberger Road business corridor and uses cable propulsion technology, which allows use of a lighter, more efficient, and aesthetically pleasing steel truss superstructure. This alternative reduces the design requirements for the concrete columns and foundations, resulting in a significantly more effective seismic design. Cable propulsion technology is also highly cost effective to build and reduces operating and maintenance costs while improving reliability.

As with any project of this magnitude, the FPJV had to overcome several obstacles, which we addressed using an ensemble of innovative techniques. Eighty percent of the AGT system is on an elevated structure with the remainder at-grade, on a U-well, or through a tunnel. The steel trusses were fabricated in the shop and delivered to the site in segments to allow overnight erection and minimize the impact on adjacent streets and tracks. The superstructure rests on concrete columns that are supported on foundations consisting of either concrete piles or large-diameter concrete cast-in-drilled-hole piles.

As a result of FPJV’s work on this project, OAK now belongs to the elite list of international airports with automated people movers. In addition to providing a more seamless connection between the Coliseum Station and the airport, the new AGT system provides several other benefits:

Reduced traffic noise and congestion

Shorter average travel and wait times

More frequent service

Increased passenger capacity

Less air pollution

The BART OAK Connector opened in late 2014. About 3,300 passengers make the station-to-airport trip in 10.5 minutes during peak hours each day.